Page 32 of Draft Pick

Because that jerk ghosted me, and my feelings are still hurt. I sniffed, wiping my nose with the back of my hand. "Because it's none of his business."

Darby vehemently disagreed. "Um, he's the father and he needs to take responsibility. It takes two to tango and he tangoed you right into becoming a single mother."

I couldn't face Cason, not like this. It felt needy and pathetic. Plus, I didn't need his buddies whispering in his ear, saying I'd gotten pregnant on purpose because of his football career.

Darby read my mind. "Once the word gets out that it's Cason's kid, the rumors will start no matter what and the facts won't matter so I wouldn't let that be the deciding factor of whether or not you tell him."

"If no one says anything, then, he'll never know," I said, "because I sure as hell don't plan on telling him."

Danielle interjected. "Yeah, but to play devils advocate you might want to rethink that stand purely for the sake of economics."

I looked at Danielle. "What do you mean?"

"Well," she explained as she doodled, "I'm not saying that Cason should be involved with theraisingof his child, but he should definitely be involved with, thepaymentof his child. Kids are expensive. Remember my friend Penny? Well, she ended up having the kid but she didn't want to have anything to do with her baby daddy. She ended up having to go on food stamps, and government assistance. But here's the thing, it was never enough to pay the bills and she was constantly stressed about how she was going to make rent, and how she was going to feed her kid." Danielle rolled her eyes, "Oh my God, the list goes on forever. And I'm not saying this will happen to you but she turned into an escort. I mean, sure she can pay her bills now, but I'm pretty sure that's not how she envisioned her life turning out."

Darby and I exchanged guilty looks, knowing we'd both wondered if Danielle was an escort, but now I felt bad for wondering.

But Darby went there, always willing to call out the elephant in the room with zero fucks given. "Funny that you should say that, I've often wondered ifyouwere an escort. No shade and no shame, you do you girl, but we've all seen what you drive and we have no idea where you work."

I held my breath because I was curious, too, even though it was none of my business. "You don't have to tell us," I tacked on, trying not to be a jerk.

But Danielle laughed, finding our curiosity hilarious. "You thought I was an escort? No, but I am a sugar baby, and some might say it's similar, but it's totally not."

Danielle was a sugar baby. Made total sense. My drama was momentarily forgotten. "So, are you dating some old guy right now?"

"He's not a fossil but he's older than my dad," Danielle admitted. "But he treats me like a queen and what he lacks in stamina, he makes up for with experience and his wallet."

Darby was immediately intrigued. "Nice, do you have to do anything super weird?"

"No, not really."

The fact that Darby was disappointed was so on point for that girl. "Cool," she said, returning to me with a shrug, "well, that's one mystery solved. Back to you. What are you going to do about your situation?"

"I don't know," I admitted.

Darby ventured cautiously. "Well, you have options. If you're not ready to be a mom… it's still early enough to…you know, not be a mom."

I knew what she was saying, and I appreciated her sensitivity, but the second I considered that option, I let it go.

I would forever support a woman's right to choose, but I knew what the choice would be for me.

"I guess I'm going to be a single mom," I decided in a tremulous voice, looking to Darby and Danielle for support.

And I got it.

Darby immediately jumped up and hugged me tight, holding me while I broke down and cried, and Danielle crowded in, officially breaking the 'non-hug-y' barrier of our relationship.

I cried, not because I was sad, but because I was afraid.

Afraid of doing this alone, without my mom, and unsure how I'd manage to raise a kid I wasn't ready for and still graduate with my degree without resorting to becoming a stripper or an escort to cover the bills.

But even more so, I was sad because deep down, I wanted to tell Cason about this baby, but my pride wouldn't let me.

“Fuck yeah!We’re gonna take the dogs to the muthafucking pound!”

I grinned as I tightened the laces on my cleats, listening to my teammates as they trash-talked the Fresno State team we were about to meet on the field.

It was the first game of the season, and a heady mix of adrenalin and testosterone flowed like beer at a rager.

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